Report: State energy plan could freeze out many low-income utility customers

ALBANY — More than half of New York's low-income utility customers could be left out of financial assistance programs under a draft plan to rework the state’s energy grid, according to a new report.

An initial proposal by the state Department of Public Service to include low-income customers in the "Reforming Energy Vision" plan relies too heavily upon the existing Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, according to the report by the Department of State's Consumer Protection Unit. The problem, according to the report, is that HEAP reaches only a fraction of eligible low-income customers.

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The DPS proposal, the report says, is “under-inclusive because it fails to enroll over half of New York State's low-income customers. A successful low-income discount program for similarly situated low-income gas and electric customers cannot depend upon whether they were fortunate enough to receive a HEAP grant.”

The state is facing something of a crisis in the number of low-income residents unable to pay their monthly utility bills. Last year, more than 1 million customers were at least 60 days late in paying their utility bill, owing almost $1 billion. About 250,000 customers had their power shut off for failure to pay a bill. New York's utility bills are among the highest in the nation.

Low-income programs are generally funded by fees on monthly bills, so increasing the number of participants in the program could increase monthly costs for other customers unless the state finds a new funding source. Some low-income advocates feel they are being left out of the state's process.

The state will consider all of the feedback as it develops the program, Public Service Commission spokesman James Denn said.

“The proposed plan seeks to identify ways to reduce the energy burden and costs for low-income utility customers across New York,” he said in a statement.

The Cuomo administration’s REV initiative aims to reduce monthly bills by making the electrical grid more efficient. It seeks to increase energy efficiency and equip consumers with technology to lower their bills, including smart thermostats that turn down the heat when no one is home. The current proposal is just a draft and will be likely tweaked a number of times before it is completed.

If done right, REV has the potential to profoundly help low-income residents across New York, said Cecil Corbin-Mark, deputy director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, an environmental group focused on issues facing minority communities.

“We need to make sure the programs created are helping people not fall into energy poverty because there are a lot of folks in this state who are able to pay for the electrical bills to keep their heat on,” he said.

WE ACT was among a coalition of environmental and community groups called Energy Efficiency for All that submitted comments to the PSC on Tuesday in the low-income proceeding, which will include public hearings in the fall. The groups called for an automatic enrollment for qualifying customers, eliminating a meaningful part of the bill for customers who can’t pay and more funding for assistance program. They also seek an expansion of energy efficiency efforts in public housing, where people most need to cut their energy bills.

“The most vulnerable low income customers must, in all cases, be both protected and empowered throughout the REV clean energy transition,” they wrote in PSC comments. “Current low income assistance programs should be deployed as efficiently as possible, with existing budgets protected and ideally, expanded.”